𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠 - 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ✓

23 ʀɪꜱᴋɪɴɢ ɪᴛ

••••

A soft knock broke the silence and Jongho looked up from his book. His head was pounding and every cell in his body was screaming for sleep. But it was no use. If he didn't want to mess up his exam tomorrow, he had to study.

The door opened quietly and Jongho was surprised to see his mother in the doorway. Her short brown hair blew slightly in the breeze and her thin lips curled into a smile. "Still studying?" she asked, although it was obvious with all the books on Jongho's bed. He nodded slightly. His mother put on a worried look and entered the room completely. She closed the door quietly and then approached Jongho to sit down on the bed next to him. He looked at his mother with irritation, as it must have been weeks if not months since she had last been in his room for more than a minute.

She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and held out her hand to him. Still confused, Jongho clasped her hand and waited for her to tell him what was going on. "Did you and Lia have a fight?" she asked with a certain heaviness in her voice. Jongho pushed the book off his lap to give his mother his full attention. "Why do you ask?" he wanted to know. The slight wrinkles in his mother's eyes creased slightly as she tried to smile.

"You've been avoiding each other for days and Lia hardly talks to me anymore." Jongho took a deep breath and weighed up telling his mother everything. But was he really ready for this? "I'm just busy with university and stuff," Jongho lied.

He hadn't spent a second studying in the last few days. He was either sitting in his room thinking about Yeosang, starting to write new songs, or he was with Yeosang, giving him his full attention. He would never have thought it was possible to become this intimate with someone so quickly, but he was already at the point where he was sure that he loved Yeosang. Everything between them was just magical.

"Is it because of your fight last week?" Jongho's mother continued the topic. Jongho reluctantly remembered the evening but nodded slightly. There was probably no way around it anyway. "You know that your sister talks a lot of nonsense, don't take it to heart," she said now, squeezing his hand lightly. Jongho lowered his eyes and fiddled with his pillow. "She wasn't talking nonsense," he blurted out and although he was scared, it felt relieving.

His mother's eyes widened slightly and she looked at him questioningly. Jongho took another deep breath. "I've fallen in love with someone," he mumbled, not remembering that he had ever said that to his mother. Every time he'd had something with a girl, it hadn't been significant enough to tell his parents about. Never before had he felt the need to bring someone here and introduce them to his family. It was different with Yeosang.

His mother began to smile lovingly. Jongho knew that her smile would disappear in the next second, but he was willing to risk it. "But it's not a woman," he said as calmly as he could. He waited for his mother's reaction, expecting anything. That she would yell at him. That she would tell him he was crazy. That she would leave the room without a word. He would have been fine with anything, but his mother just sat there and stared at him as if she no longer recognized her son.

Jongho didn't know what to do. Afraid of what she would do next, he withdrew his hand slightly. He was about to justify himself, but his mother surprised him a second time when she pulled him into her arms.
A strange feeling spread through Jongho. He felt his mother's hand stroking the back of his head.

"I would be happy to meet him," escaped her lips and Jongho pulled away from her in surprise. "Really?" he asked incredulously, looking into the brown eyes that reflected his own. She nodded and actually looked happy. Jongho couldn't believe it. "Do you think dad..." Jongho began, but his mother answered before he could finish his question. "He'll understand," she said, nodding in confirmation. Jongho's shoulders slumped in relief. He would never have thought that his parents could just accept it like that.